Naturalistic Action Test

The NAT is a clinical assessment of learned, sequential, object-oriented behavior in the service of everyday goals (i.e., multi-step or naturalistic action).

Participants perform three tasks under controlled laboratory conditions: make toast and coffee; gift-wrap a present; and, pack a child’s lunchbox and schoolbag. Their performance is scored for accuracy and a variety of error types.

The NAT, and its predecessor, the Multi-level Action Test (MLAT), have been used to characterize how naturalistic action is impacted by neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), and left and right hemisphere stroke.

The data obtained from the NAT has entered into theoretical debates on the cognitive requirements of routine action, the nature of semantic memory for objects, and the meaning of ideational apraxia.